The best music databases, according to hackers
3 music databases were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 2 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The two most recommended music databases with the badge. Each figure is 2 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Detailed release and edition metadata
Free, freely licensed music metadata database that people use to tag, catalogue and look up releases. Critics mainly cite a poor user experience.
Go-to place for physical media
People recommend Discogs as a large music database and marketplace for buying physical records and CDs, with a freely downloadable database.
All 3 music databases, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MusicBrainz | 24 | 4 | 86% | 9 | — | Approved |
| 2 | Discogs | 12 | 2 | 86% | 7 | — | Approved |
| 3 | RateYourMusic | 8 | 6 | 57% | 6 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same music database in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to music databases that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.